Gautam Gambhir makes amends

For Gautam Gambhir, this match was a continuation of the Champions Trophy where his careless run-out kickstarted a fatal collapse for India. Here he was bent on setting things right.

Gambhir fought through testing times against the new ball, scored at a steady pace while his opening partner Virender Sehwag struggled, and almost single-handedly built a platform from which India could challenge Pakistan's total.

After their batsmen posted 267, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Aamer hustled Sehwag and Gambhir, combining tight lines and lengths with pace and bounce. The first boundary came in the third over, off a Gambhir inside edge that narrowly missed the stumps. Sehwag stayed scoreless for ten balls, and soon departed for 10 off 32 balls, edging Abdul Razzaq behind.

India had scored 47 when Sehwag fell and most of those runs came from Gambhir. His first confident shot was a slash over point off Aamer in the sixth over, and a few balls later he dabbed deftly past the keeper for another four. The boundaries were rare, though, and Gambhir ran hard for his runs. Vi

He reached his half-century off 51 deliveries before the spinners Ajmal and Afridi slowed down the run-rate once again. Gambhir was batting with a steely determination, keen to make amends for his lax attitude that contributed to India's defeat against Pakistan in the 2009 Champions Trophy. His dive to complete a tight single stood in complete contrast, and showed just how much it mattered.